Juan Atkins, pioneer of Detroit techno, dies at 64

He is widely considered one of the most important innovators of electronic club music and a co-founder of Detroit techno. Medical personnel at a local hospital were unable to revive him.

Kevin Saunderson was among the first to publicly mourn Atkins’ death. “Heartbreaking news today. My brother Juan Atkins has passed away,” Saunderson wrote on social media. “Juan was the originator of Techno, a true visionary who opened the door for so many of us – including myself.” Saunderson recalled how Atkins helped him complete his first record, “Triangle of Love,” and described their shared journey as one that “changed music forever.”

Atkins, along with Saunderson and Derrick May, are known as the Belleville Three, credited with shaping Detroit techno by blending Chicago house with the electronic sounds of Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra. Atkins is recognized as the first to use the term “techno” to describe this distinct electronic style.

Born in Detroit in 1962, Atkins later moved with his family to the rural suburb of Belleville. In 2024, he told The Guardian, “I just wasn’t used to riding the school bus and living on a dirt road.” It was there he met Saunderson and May.

While initially unaware of its significance, Atkins later acknowledged the impact of his music. “In Detroit, nobody knew it was techno. The kids just felt it was a new sound. When it came to Europe, Europe had to give it a name.”

As a student, Atkins formed the duo Cybotron with Richard Davis, utilizing newly accessible technology like the Roland TR-808 drum machine. He drew inspiration from a course on futures studies. “I had a class called futures studies, which was about the transition from an industrial society to a technology society,” Atkins recalled in 2014.

Tracks like “Cosmic Cars” and “Clear” became dance floor staples, and the album “Enter” was released in 1983. The duo split two years later when Davis shifted his focus to rock music. Atkins then founded his label Metroplex and recorded under the name Model 500. His single “No UFO’s” brought the Detroit sound to the UK, inspiring a techno compilation.

Throughout his career, Atkins remained prolific, releasing albums as Infiniti and Borderland with Moritz von Oswald. In the 2010s, he toured with May and Saunderson as The Belleville Three, and he revived Cybotron in 2023. His influence, earning him the nickname “Godfather of Techno,” extended far beyond the club scene; numerous artists have sampled “Clear,” including Missy Elliott, who incorporated it into her hit “Lose Control,” which reached number three on the US Billboard charts in 2005.